I used to be well into classic horror and ghosts stories back in the 1990s, and now in these darker times, I find it comforting to turn to them once again.

I love the way Walter de la Mare took the concept of a character giving their first-hand account of a story to the reader, without doing any introspective or retrospective analysis. He's just telling you what he heard, what he saw, what he smelt, what he said, and what he did. He doesn't retrospectively explain the logic or reasoning behind his actions, nor does he really even offer an introspective analysis of his actions. This style of writing (and reading 👍) makes for a pretty intense bit of storytelling despite the elements of humor laced throughout.

there are so many good stories in the public domain and Horror Babble makes great use of them

First "The Riddle" and now "A.B.O." So happy to see you covering Walter de la Mare. Ian's voice is the perfect instrument for this material.

This story is a first class nightmare fuel. I also like how weirdly hysterical it is, compared to how restrained and subtle de la Mare's latter weird stories are. Keep up the good work, so few of his stories are available in audio (BBC recordings from some years ago are BRUTALLY abridged).

Wow! This is a well-written story. Your narration, as always, is peerless. Your narrations have opened my eyes to many wonderful writers. Many newer stories lack the depth of these great examples of storytelling. I am kept guessing at the backstory and future of the creature. This is the type of story I wish had a sequel! This is a fantastic story! Thanks for making this great author known to us! I have to find more of his stories!

My thanks to you, Ian, both for searching out this treasure and for lending to it your superb narrative skills. I first encountered it many years ago in a collection checked out from a public library, and ever since have had it teasing at my brain like an unscratchable itch. Listening to your reading of it tonight has made me very happy. Somewhere very far away, I believe de la Mare is smiling... DB

I am having a Horrorbabble day, this is now my 4th story, great way to spend a rest day. Listened to this on Spotify. However, I came over to KZfaq to thank everyone for all the hard work.

THis is both hilarious, original, and disturbing. This is really, really great, and PERFECTLY read. Thank you so much!

Love De La Mare! Thanks for the upload!

I remember reading this when I was too young to understand the horror of it. This was a wonderful reintroduction to it.

You never fail , this is such a great story and I haven't read it in years . I keep telling people that you and your Horrorbabble are an absolute treasure trove of top quality. You never let us down Ian. 😘

That opening interchange was brilliant 😄. Thank you for another excellent reading 👍🥃

wonderful stories, narration top notch. Thank you to who has created , read, produced and most important uploaded them to KZfaq for our entertainment. I enjoy them very much and I can rest my eyes now, that helps alot.

I really enjoy this story. It's funny and creepy at the same time, and your narration is just the cherry on top. I'm listening to it for the second time right now I paused it to make this comment. I think I might have to listen to it for a third time, so I can try to figure out the answers to the questions I still have.

What a wonderfully strange story, thank you for another great reading

What a gem is this one! Thank you so!

Love this! You guys go so above and beyond when it comes to finding material sometimes, instead of pulling stuff from random 4chan threads where you get that "#15" stuff you actually search for decent stories to provide quality over quantity. Love this channel!!

"A:B:O." is a short story by Walter de la Mare, written under the pen name, Walter Ramal. The story first appeared in The Cornhill Magazine in the late 1890s. It tells of the discovery and excavation of a strange, metallic chest. Thanks again to David Bailey for the suggestion! Chapters: 00:10 - Introduction 00:54 - A:B:O. 42:48 - Credits Bandcamp link: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/album/a-b-o Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble Music and production by Ian Gordon Support us on Bandcamp or Patreon: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com www.patreon.com/horrorbabble HorrorBabble MERCH: teespring.com/stores/horrorbabble-merch Search HORRORBABBLE to find us on: AUDIBLE / ITUNES / SPOTIFY Home: www.horrorbabble.com Rue Morgue: www.rue-morgue.com Social Media: facebook.com/HorrorBabble instagram.com/horrorbabble twitter.com/HorrorBabble

Brilliant, thank you for this dark gem. Perfection as always Ian!

I have just listened to this mere yards away from where De La Mere lived in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Thank you very much - I hadn't come across this one before! As soon as that 'pipe' was mentioned, I was thinking, ' Don't do it..'...

Enjoyed this story. The description of the begger eating is hilarious !

Very enjoyable gem from the past.

Opps! I meant to say thank you for reading the story. You have a good voice for reading out loud. Enjoyed listening to you read .

The reader did a great at reading the story. Thank You

Wholeness and balanced vibrations thanks for the upload

Wonderful, thank you 🙏🏽💙

Man, those guys have a melodramatic way of speaking.

Thank you for bringing this classic lit to life!💀

a gem

Love the name Walter de la Mare.

i love the way you say ‘door’. 🙃

I love this story and my mind keeps coming back to it lately. It's so... strange. I'd love to know what ever gave him such an idea. Was it inspired by a dream? Is it purely allegory? How much of this tale is a product of its time? WTF?! I can't find anything much about this particular story in my searches. Maybe this narration will get A:B:O noticed out there and people will begin to devote forum threads and blog posts to analysis. I'll give up the search for now. But maybe in a couple years more will have listened/read this totally unique story and be as mystified as I.

I wonder if you would consider reading "Seaton's Aunt" by de la Mare? The unsettling feeling it produces lingers like an old woman's perfume.

i was wondering if you'd ever read Walter de la Mare -and . . . a new one to me -thanks for all your research :}

Both funny and scary. Great narration for a great story.

Ian, your content is fantastic and I love discovering new authors and stories from you. I still shudder at least once a day now remembering "The Human Chair"! Would you be willing to read "The White People" or "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen? Every audiobook of it I have found is subpar, even the NAXOS recording! Thank you.

Wonderfully read. Any chance of you doing Guy Endor's Day of the Dragon?

I think these guys were overreacting. It just wanted to snuggle up by the fire and take a nap. 😊 Excellent narration as always.

Looked this up, I wonder what ABO stands for? I know one of the characters takes a passing guess, and yet...

Great story thnx🕷🖤👌👍❗🕶🕷🕸

What happened in the end???

Oh, more de la Mare readings, please! Any would do, but a rarer one such as 'The Tree' would be nice.

Well...I'm here...again😂 Only thing is...I wish I had a "magnificent nose"...come to think of it I didn't know they existed...well you learn sumptin new every day😂😂...now to find a chunk of prime Welsh lamb, me...I'm hungry... Very well done...just not the lamb, ok?

What's the story made me LOL a couple times

This is why I'm pro-life